Memories
by wiltar
Summary: AU: The Evil Force Julie has Marissa institutionalized because she can't accept Marissa's relationship with Alex. Can fate somehow bring Alex and Marissa back together?
1. Prologue

**Title: **Memories

**Author: **Patricia (wiltarzonnet.nl) 

**Rating:** T - PG-13 I guess

**Disclaimers: **None of the OC characters belong to me. They are the property of Josh Schwartz and Fox. Doctor Hamilton, doctor Lewis, Evan, Charlie, doctor Wu, Lacey, Jason, Joe, Sharon, Frankie, Isaac, Robin and doctor Rogers (in order of appearance, no matter how small their parts are) are made up by me. So they DO belong to me! The song Memories (although I changed 1 word in it) belongs to Within Temptation and BMG Netherlands. The song Time With You belongs to Billy Currington and his record company. The song Float On belongs to Modest Mouse and Epic.

**Pairing:** Alex/Marissa

**Feedback:** It's something I crave, so please send it to my e-mail address or post it here.

**Distribution:** Feel free to put it on your website, but please let me know and give me the credits for my hard work

**Spoilers: **None, unless you didn't know Marissa and Alex are a couple.

**Dedication: **To everyone who managed to get through this fic

**Notes: **I'm not a psychiatrist and this is fiction. I don't know all the correct terms or names of organizations. I made up names myself, if they somehow turn out to be existing facilities, it's pure coincidence. My mind just ran away with me again so I just wrote, even though I know real life would never be anything like this. Once again I repeat; this is fiction people.

**Summary:** This fic starts out pretty painful but believe me, it has a **happy ending!** In this fic Julie had Marissa institutionalized after she found out about her relationship with Alex. Seven years after she's been committed, there is a light at the end of the tunnel… And for a change, the light is not a train at full speed ;-)

Now as another small side-note: I know the song I used is originally about someone who passed away, but I felt that would be too depressing. Not to mention the fact that a happy ending is pretty hard to find when one of your characters is dead. And besides, I feel like the song really works in this context as well.

Prologue 

_September 19th 2012_

It had been such a long time, seven years to be exact, from the moment fate decided to tear Marissa and Alex apart. Although 'fate' this time could best be defined as Julie Cooper-Nichols.

Julie had managed to destroy two relationships at once; the relationship _of_ her daughter, and the relationship _with_ her daughter. It still hurt Marissa to think about it, yet she had to, each and every single day again. Some days were more painful than others, but no matter what, the heavy weight was always on her heart.

This day was one of the worst. It was to the date seven years ago that Julie had torn Marissa and Alex apart.

Marissa thought back to the moment she heard her mom utter those words.

"Marissa, you are not my daughter." She had then turned towards the medical crew "Take her away. And make sure that Alex-girl never sets a foot inside the building of Foster's mental health center."

After all of the threats Julie had given a year before all of this happened, Marissa thought she would never go through with it. But as soon as Julie found out about Alex, she called to have Marissa institutionalized. Because Marissa was still a minor, there was nothing she could do. She tried to fight, tried to defend herself, but it was useless. A needle was pushed into her arm and before she knew it she was violently forced into the armored van. She only got one look at Alex again that day, and the picture was branded in her mind forever. The picture of Alex breaking down, falling onto her knees, crying out Marissa's name. The last words she heard from Alex was the screaming of "Don't let them get to you Marissa, you have to get out! I love you!" Then she lost consciousness.

What had happened to Alex since that day, Marissa didn't know. From what doctors had told her, Alex had certainly been keeping security busy each time she tried to get to Marissa. In fact, it was the thought of that which had kept Marissa going for all those years.

They were seven long, hard, painful years. Marissa had tried everything she could to get out, but during one of her conversations with doctor Hamilton all of her hopes were taken away from her.

"Look Marissa, you can do what you want, cry all you want, say what you want, but you are not going to get out of here. As long as your mother keeps paying us, we are keeping you here. And don't think you can do anything with this knowledge, because no one will believe you, there is no record at all, you understand? So why don't you start behaving, that way your stay will at least be slightly comfortable for all of those involved."

Marissa had once again tried to fight for her freedom and her love when she replied challengingly "Oh really? And what about the medical reports? I'm no longer a minor, you need to have a solid ground to keep me here. You've got nothing on me."

Doctor Hamilton had shot her one of his horrible smiles. "Wrong again. The medical reports say what I wrote in them. According to my files, you are nothing more than a crazy psycho bitch. And believe me, no one will doubt me the slightest bit." Arrogance dripped from his voice.

As realization hit her, Marissa broke down. She was emotionally drained by that place, and by the people in it.

From that moment on, Marissa had pretty much given up all hope on ever getting out again. It even got worse when she found out after two years that her dad Jimmy had tragically died in a car accident. She had turned to writing from that day, every day. During those years, she had written enough to fill an entire bookshelf. Sometimes she wrote stories, sometimes poems, sometimes songs. But they all had one thing in common. All of her writings were linked to one and the same person. The only person she felt remained in her life. Alex.

There was one writing in particular that she liked. She had named it Memories. Whenever she felt really down, Marissa would read it. It offered some kind of comfort. Today was of course one of those days. Marissa let her eyes roam over the paper.

In this world you tried 

_Not leaving me alone behind_

_There's no other way_

_I prayed to the gods let her stay_

_The memories ease the pain inside_

_Now I know why_

_All of my memories keep you near_

_In silent moments imagine you here_

_All of my memories keep you near_

_Your silent whispers, silent tears_

_Made me promise I'd try_

_To find my way back in this life_

_I hope there is a way_

_To give me a sign you're okay_

_Reminds me again it's worth it all_

_So I can go on_

_All of my memories keep you near_

_In silent moments imagine you here_

_All of my memories keep you near_

_Your silent whispers, silent tears_

_Together in all these memories_

_I see your smile_

_All of the memories I hold dear_

_Darling, you know I will love you_

_Until the end of time_

_All of my memories keep you near_

_In silent moments imagine you here_

_All of my memories keep you near_

_Your silent whispers, silent tears_

_All of my memories_

Marissa sighed and closed her eyes, once again bringing forward images of Alex's face. These moments were both the happiest, and the saddest in her existence ever since the day she was brought to Foster's. But no matter how painful the memories were, Marissa relied on them for they were what kept her alive.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 

In the years Marissa had been committed, Alex had never given up on her. She simply couldn't give up on the love that was pulled away from her so violently. She had tried almost everything possible to reach Marissa.

At first she tried getting in to Foster's the normal way, also known as 'walking in through the door'. When that didn't work she tried it by both digging underneath the fence, and climbing over. This last action had even earned her a night in jail.

After that, she tried the more subtle approach; she applied for a job using a different name. Unfortunately it was doctor Hamilton who did the job interview. He recognized her instantly, and she was once again escorted from the building. This had actually been the closest she had come to reaching Marissa, the only time she got into the building. Eventually, she had run out of plans. But in her mind, she ran over all the possibilities every day again, each time hoping to find a loophole.

Till one day her luck finally changed.

As Alex was sitting by the bar at the Bait Shop -which she no longer just managed but now owned herself- sipping her beer with her notepad in front of her, she was tapped on her shoulder. She turned around without actually looking at the person behind her.

"Sorry, you can go bug someone else because I'm not available" She turned back to her notepad on which the interesting title 'plans to save Marissa' was written. Underneath it was a small list with ideas.

_Pretend I'm getting laundry and smuggle Marissa out in the cart hidden underneath sheets._

_Money! Buy my way in with the help of someone who's willing to risk their job_

_Find an accomplice, preferably one with inside knowledge_

_Find something to blackmail Julie aka The Bitch. There must be more than a little dirt surrounding her. Maybe a porn video, or a lover on the side…_

_Go on National Television. Only need to find a talk show host that actually believes me. So we can just forget about Leno and Larry King._

_Drug that asshole dr. Hamilton. BUT HOW!_

Even after all this time, she still considered Marissa her girlfriend. Never again had she given herself to anyone else. And she was willing to do everything to get her beloved one back into her arms one day.

"Alex Kelly?" the voice from the stranger spoke.

She didn't even turn around again. "I told you, not interested"

"Dammit Alex, don't you recognize your old customers? It's Luke"

This time she did a full turn around. "Luke? What are you doing here?"

"I need to speak to you, can we go somewhere else? We don't want to be overheard, I promise you this."

By the urgency of his voice, Alex knew Luke was being dead serious here.

"Sure, let's go to my place."

When they arrived Luke made sure all windows and doors were closed.

"I have to ask you a few things, they can be really important. But first you must swear to me you won't talk to anybody else about this. It could cost me my license if you do." Luke said.

"License, what license?" Alex asked curiously.

"My license to work as a psychiatrist. Now will you please just swear to keep you mouth about the things I'm about to tell you?"

At the word 'psychiatrist' Alex's almost jumped up. Could it be? "You've got my word"

"Okay, this might be a bit complicated, but I hope you'll hear me out. Here's the thing. About a month ago, I got an offer from Foster's to work for them as psychiatrist. As it's a highly recommended center, I took the job. When I was looking through the files for one of my patients, I stumbled upon one with Marissa's name on it. I know it's not ethical of me, but I couldn't believe she was in there. So I read it. It was such a strange file… I just had this feeling something wasn't right. I could not find a single reason to believe she actually has any disorder from the reports. I did find out she is in a special ward, which is assigned to doctor Hamilton." Luke took a sip of water before continuing

"So I tried to talk to him, see if I could find out anything. While most psychiatrists are proud of their work and the way they handle their patients, he only told me he works for a special unit and that he couldn't tell me more than that. He acted like he was hiding something. I know Marissa is still in there, and I don't understand. Whatever has happened, it happened while I was at my dad's. No one ever told me about it. So I was hoping that you could tell me more about this, because in her file I also found your name, along with the note that you are not allowed to ever enter Foster's."

Alex's skin in the meantime had been drained from all color. This was her loophole; someone who worked there, someone who didn't trust the situation because he knew Marissa, someone willing to help her.

"I think I have exactly the information that you seek." She whispered.

"There are some things you need to know about how all of this happened. Almost eight years ago, Marissa and I started dating. Marissa kept it from her family for over six months… but when she told them, all hell broke loose. Her mom, she freaked completely. Marissa tried to talk to her, I tried to talk to her, but it was useless. One night…" Alex shuddered again at the thought of that dramatic evening. Her eyes started watering.

"One night, Marissa was at my place. There was a knock on my door, so I went to open it. In front of me were Julie and the monsters from Foster's. They took her away that evening. Julie told Marissa that she was no longer her daughter, and then let them take her away. She made sure I wouldn't be allowed anywhere near her. She just threw her daughter away like garbage."

Tears slowly started to make their way down Alex's face. The heart ache still was unbearable.

"Marissa fought so hard, but they sedated her. And I tried to get to her, I really did, but those guys were too strong. I fought so hard for her…"

Alex wiped angrily at her eyes, took a deep breath and continued.

"Ever since, Marissa has been there. I don't know what they're doing to her, but I know for certain Julie is still the driving force. I tried so many times to get in, but I never succeeded."

Luke took Alex's hand in his own.

"I should have known Julie was behind this. Did you know she tried to have Marissa committed before?"

Alex nodded a yes, unable to speak anymore.

"We're going to get Marissa out, I promise you. I believe you and I will help you in any way I can. Of course she will need to go through some testing, but if we can prove she was committed all this time against her will, and against medical policies… Hopefully we can even get doctor Hamilton a conviction." Luke paused for a moment. "Thank you so much Alex, I'm gonna contact someone who can probably help us. I'll get back to you as soon as I've got more information. And in the meantime… hang in there. You're no longer fighting this alone."

Luke stood up and hugged Alex tightly. He'd known Alex very well back in the days before he left Newport, and he'd been around her long enough to see how much she still loved Marissa. Upon seeing this and hearing Alex's story he was determined to help.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 

The next day, Luke immediately went to work on his secret assignment. He started out by contacting an old professor of his, doctor Lewis.

"Doctor Lewis, it's Luke Ward. I was wondering if you could spare some time for me? There's this situation I'd like to get your opinion on."

"Sure Luke, I'm always glad to help out an old student of mine. What's the matter?" Doctor Lewis replied.

"It's a bit complicated, but it comes down to this. I work at this institute, and I have reason to believe that something illegal is going on here. I believe they are holding at least one, but possibly more patients against their will. Someone who doesn't have any real disorder. I think this might be done in exchange for money."

"Luke, that's a pretty serious accusation you are making there. How certain are you really?"

"I've spoken to people related to this one patient, I've seen reports, and from all of that, I'm really pretty certain."

"Did you speak to the patient?" Doctor Lewis asked

"No sir, I have not yet."

"In that case, speak to him or her first. If you're still certain after that, I would advise you to file a complaint with the National Medical Committee. They will conduct an investigation. But you need to be one hundred percent sure before you do anything like that Luke, they are not happy with false alarms in these sort of cases."

"Thank you so much doctor Lewis, I will keep that in mind."

Luke now was determined to speak to Marissa.

Later that night, Luke came back to Foster's. He pretended to have forgotten something, so the security guards let him in. After all, he was an employee so there was no reason for suspicion. They were used to doctors coming in and out the place at all times.

He made his way to the forbidden wing instantly.

Somehow, doctor Hamilton was as stupid to believe that a 'restricted area' sign alone was enough to keep nosey people at bay. He could walk straight through the heavy doors.

"310, 311, 312, 313, 314. That's the one." He mumbled to himself. The door had no window, it was just plain white. As he moved his key-card through the card reader, he heard a beep, then a soft zooming and then a click. The door was opened.

Marissa had been lying on her bed for a few hours. She had been writing again until the moment her arms and shoulders started to hurt. By that time, it had become pretty quiet and dark. At Foster's that meant most doctors had left for home and that most patients had been put to sleep for the night. Sleep however, was the last thing Marissa had on her mind. She closed her eyes to bring forward the memory of Alex.

Alex's hairstyle, her eyes, her lips, the feel of them. The feel of her perfect body, spooning her own from behind, arms wrapped around her. The simple things, like Alex standing at the kitchen counter in the morning, brewing the best coffee Marissa had ever tasted. The way Alex would always insist on opening the door for Marissa. And of course the way Alex would plant a tiny kiss on Marissa's forehead each morning, thinking Marissa was still sleeping when really she was wide awake. It pained Marissa she never got to tell Alex that she knew about this little loving gesture. If only she could get the chance to tell her just that…

Marissa got pulled out of her train of thought by the familiar beeping of the card reader. Someone was unlocking her door.

Cautiously she sat up. Never before in all of the seven years she had been at Foster's, a doctor or nurse came to visit her at this unholy hour. The door slowly opened and she heard a whisper of her name. She couldn't see anything else but the shadow of the person entering.

"Marissa?"

"Who is it? Doctor Hamilton, is that you?" Marissa replied uncertainly. She didn't know what to think of this strange visit.

"Marissa… listen, you've got to be quiet. It's Luke, Luke Ward."

As Marissa heard the uttering of these words, she let out a heavy breath. She felt a wave of dizziness rise to her head, then the spinning of the world. She passed out.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 

Marissa felt a cold wet washcloth on her head as she started to come to. Her eyelids felt heavy and her mouth felt dry.

Slowly she opened her eyes. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she started to make out the features of a familiar figure. It hadn't been a dream. Luke was really there.

She opened her mouth to try and speak, but no words came out.

"Shhh, calm down Marissa. Have a sip of water." Luke spoke slowly while offering her a bottle of water.

Marissa gulped it down in less than twenty seconds. She then tried to speak again.

"Luke, what are you…? How did you…? I mean… How come you're here?"

"It's a pretty long story really, but I'll give you the short version for now. I'll explain more to you later, but right now I really need you to give me your full attention. I don't have much time here."

Marissa just looked at him with her big eyes, the look a mix of surprise, happiness and despair.

"I'm a psychiatrist nowadays. I got a job here and found out by accident that you've been here for the last seven years. I know I shouldn't have done so, but I read your file when I stumbled onto it. And I honestly to God don't know what to think of it Marissa. But I had to see you, see how you are and what's going on."

Marissa's eyes filled with tears. After such a long time, she saw a familiar face. She saw a sign of life from the outside world, and the chance to make someone see what was happening to her in this place. Luke sat down next to her and wrapped an arm around her, hugging her closely.

"It's been terrible. My mom…I told her about me and Alex and then I was sent here. And Alex tried to help me but she couldn't. And now mom's paying them and they're not letting me go. But you've got to believe me, I'm not crazy Luke."

"Calm down Marissa, calm down. I believe you. I've seen Alex yesterday, she told me all that has happened. She loves you very much Marissa, and we're gonna fight together to get you out of here but we need your help."

At the mention of Alex's name Marissa pulled away from Luke, to stare him straight in the eye.

"You saw Alex?" her mouth went dry again.

"Yeah. I saw her name in your file, so I decided to ask her if she could tell me more about what was happening to you."

"How is she?"

"Honestly…Pretty much the same way you are…a mess. Lost a lot of weight, lost all tan. The only difference is that she's out there and you're here. But she never forgot you. She's been trying all these things to get you out, she was writing down plans to free you from this place when I found her. She's still waiting for you."

"Will you… Will you tell her I love her so much, and that I miss her. And that I'm gonna keep fighting to get out of here."

"I will do that. And remember; she loves you too. I've got to go now before I get caught here, but I'll be back soon. I'm gonna bring some tests we need to do, so I can gather proof. That's the only way we can get you out."

"Okay" Marissa breathed.

"Now you just keep acting normal, don't tell anyone I've been here, we must keep this a secret. Hang in there, I'll be back soon."

He kissed Marissa's cheek, then turned to leave. With the closing of the door, Marissa was left alone again with her thought. But for the first time in many years, the thoughts contained an emotion Marissa almost didn't believe even existed in the first place. Hope.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 

The next morning, Luke went to keep his promise to Alex. He promised to tell her any news he had. So at nine in the morning he stood in front of her door.

He knocked three times, but no one answered. Once again he knocked. But still, there was no sign of life from inside. Growing worried, he started to pounce wildly on the door.

"Alex, are you in there? Alex! Please, open the door, it's Luke."

His fist was still pouncing at the wood of Alex's door when it swung open. In front of Luke was Alex, her hair completely messed up, mascara smeared all over her cheeks and a fume of alcohol surrounding her. She was obviously completely hung over.

"Damn Alex, what the hell have you been doing?" Luke asked concerned. He didn't like seeing Alex this way, they had to keep it together if they planned on getting Marissa out.

But as soon as he spoke, Alex seemed to sober up instantly.

"Luke! Come in, do you have any news?"

"Inside." Luke said in an insistent tone.

Alex opened the door wider to let Luke step in. Luke took a quick glance around. On the floor were several empty beer bottles and a pizza box, scattered around. An ashtray stood on the table, nearly overflowing with all the cigarettes Alex must have been smoking the night before. On the couch was a blanket. Alex probably didn't even make it to her own bed last night. Next to the couch on the floor was a photograph of Alex and Marissa together. They were lost in each others' eyes, it seemed like the picture had been snapped while neither of them noticed they were being photographed.

On the table he also saw a few pictures, right next to what seemed to be a photo album. Also there was a dvd-case with a home made cover, saying "Alex's 18th birthday party – The Bait Shop"

As he sat down, he motioned for Alex to sit down as well. She looked at him expectantly. Luke just wanted to spill out right away that he had seen Marissa, but he didn't. He knew that if he did Alex wouldn't listen to anything else he would say. So he decided to fill her in first on what he had talked about with his old professor.

"Two nights ago I called my old professor. I explained our suspicions to him. He advised me to see Marissa myself and to gather enough information –or proof rather- to file a complaint at the National Medical Committee."

"Did you see her?" Alex asked, her eyes wide open.

Luke nodded his head in a 'yes' motion. "I did. I went to the center last night, pretending to have forgotten something. I went to the Restricted Area and I found her there. She told me to tell you she loves you and she misses you. And also I have to tell you she will keep on fighting to get out of there."

Luke knew he had to tell about the rest of his conversation with Marissa as well, but he knew at this moment, Alex mostly needed to hear that Marissa still loved her. And that she still missed her just as much as Alex missed her. He saw Alex's lips starting to tremble, he felt her whole body shaking even though she was sitting at least one foot away from him. Tears once again filled her eyes.

"I didn't get to talk to her for a long time Alex, but she's holding on to the thought of you like a lifeline. I'm going to see her again soon, but before I do so I need to arrange some tests she needs to take. Like I said, I must have proof that she's as sane as you and I. But she's fighting so hard to survive that place. I know we'll be able to get her out."

"She's so strong." Alex whispered. "So strong."

Luke could only confirm this. "She is. And so are you. The two of you might be away from each other, but even a fool can see you're strong. Together."

Alex shot him a small smile.

"You know what I did last night?" she asked.

Luke understood Alex had been handling everything alone for such a long time. It was obvious that she now craved to share her emotions with someone who she felt would understand.

"What did you do?" Luke replied. He wasn't going to mention the fact he knew she'd been drinking the night away, instead offering Alex just an outlet to speak about the things she'd been holding in so long.

"I've been remembering all those good moments we shared together." She reached out for the photo album on the table.

"This is the photo album we made together. I haven't been able to look at it ever since Marissa was taken away. It was always too painful. But when you came to me it was like there was finally a little light again. A tiny beam of hope. And yesterday I just went and got it. It still hurt, but different. Because I finally believe that we'll be back together again."

Alex slowly opened the album. She needed to share. Luke just sat there silently, letting Alex take the conversation wherever she wanted it to go.

"This picture was taken when we went to the zoo together. You see those elephants in the back? Marissa loves them, says elephants were always here favorite since she was a little kid. And this picture." Alex pointed another one out. It showed Alex and Marissa standing behind Rachael Yamagata. "This one was taken the night Rachael Yamagata performed at the Bait Shop. Well, at her second gig, that is. Marissa and I… we got together during her first performance at the Bait Shop. She was so cool when we told her we'd like a picture of the three of us because her first gig had been such a special evening to us."

Luke just nodded. Alex turned a few more pages.

"And this one, it's my favorite." She pointed to a picture of the two of them standing at the park. Alex was standing behind Marissa, arms wrapped around her waist and her chin leaning on Marissa's shoulder. Marissa's head was turned slightly upwards, her eyes glancing at Alex's.

"Seth took it at the park. Marissa looks so happy and carefree."

She closed the album gently before placing it on the table again.

"Can I show you something else?" she asked Luke.

"Sure, what is it?"

Alex stood up and turned her tv on. Grabbing the remote control to her dvd player she sat back again.

"This is a burned dvd. It's the only thing I have on film of Marissa. It was my birthday and we celebrated it at the Bait Shop. It was the best birthday I ever had, we had so much fun that evening. Evan, a friend of mine filmed most of that evening."

She pressed the play button. A cheery tune started playing before the images appeared on screen. It showed a lot of beautiful moments. Alex opening her presents, Marissa right there by her side. The two of them in a secluded corner, sharing a sweet kiss when they thought no one noticed. But the camera did. Marissa proposing a toast to Alex.

But the one that cut straight to Luke's heart, was the slow dance of Marissa and Alex that had been captured to last forever on this home made dvd. The song that played during this dance was Billy Currington's Time With You. A country song that hardly seemed to fit a couple like Marissa and Alex. But strangely enough, it did just that.

Luke watched as he saw Marissa and Alex on the middle of the dance floor, wrapped up in each other, swaying to the music. He noticed how Marissa's hand was gently caressing Alex's back and how Alex's lips turned into a sweet smile at that small gesture. The intimacy of the moment made him feel like he was an intruder to a private moment between two people who radiated love. His heart felt heavy in his chest and he was overwhelmed by the power of these images.

And if this already affected him this strong, he couldn't even begin to imagine what it would do to Alex each time she saw this.

When he left twenty minutes later the determination he felt before had become even stronger. He needed to bring them back together.

Marissa woke that morning from a beautiful dream. In her dream, she'd been together with Alex. They were older in it, probably something like thirty. They'd been sitting at a bench in their backyard, covered by a blanket, gazing up at the bright night sky. A beautiful blue moon lit them while Alex pointed out a set of stars, telling her "and that group of stars, it's called The Big Bunny"

Just as Alex said that, the sound of a little girl's giggling echoed in Marissa's ears. Between her and Alex the owner of the giggle was settled. Marissa knew instantly that in her dream, this was her and Alex's daughter. She must have been about four years old. The laughter of this little one filled her with happiness, as she heard her cry out "Silly mommy, you know nothing of stars!"

Alex tried to keep a straight face as she replied. "Sure I do Rachael. You see that other group there? It's called 'little girl who is about to get tickled"

When she had said that, she attacked Rachael's sides with her fingers. The girl started squirming and laughing. Marissa couldn't help but laugh along. She noticed how they had named their little girl after the singer that had played such an important role in their relationship, which brought an even bigger smile to her face.

When Marissa woke up with a smile still plastered on her face, she made a mental note to herself. "Rachael if we get a daughter one day."


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The next week went by like usual for Alex and Marissa. Alex returned to work each day, waiting for more news from Luke. Marissa spend her days locked up in the same old room, each day hoping it would be the day Luke would show up again.

Luke in the meantime had been busy preparing tests. He bought a camera and tape recorder so he could record the performing of all his tests. That way, he would have solid proof to present to the National Medical Committee.

After that week, he knew he was ready to really get started. Preparation time was over, it was time to perform for real. So that night he went to Foster's with a bag filled with papers, his cam and his tape recorder.

At the gate, he greeted the security guard. "Hi Charlie, how's everything tonight?"

"Pretty quiet so far doctor. But you know, I've got my magazines and cell phone to help me through the night. Not to mention a gorgeous girl waiting for me at home, so I have something to look forward to." He smiled broadly.

"That's good to hear Charlie. Listen, I've got to finish a huge pile of paper work and reports so it'll probably be an all-nighter for me. I'll come by in a few hours for a cup of coffee if that's okay with you."

"Sure, you know where to find me."

"Okay, see you later then."

Luke quickly went in. He made his way through the dark corridors to Marissa's room.

Glancing around one more time to make sure no one had seen him there, he went in.

"Luke!" Marissa whispered excitedly when she saw Luke come in. She went over and gave him a big hug.

"I'm so glad to see you."

"I'm happy to see you too Marissa. I'm sorry it took me so long, but I really had to make a lot of preparations for tonight. I just want to make sure all goes right, you know?" Luke replied.

Marissa nodded. "So… what's in that big bag?" she asked curiously.

"A LOT of papers, a camera and a tape recorder. I have to record everything so it will be valid proof. So I'll just go and set up everything first. In the meantime, you can fill in this form" Luke said handing a paper to Marissa. "I need you to fill in all your personal information, then sign the statement saying you're doing these tests voluntarily and willingly. Then when we're all set up, I need you to make that same statement for the camera. And then we can start the real tests."

As Luke started setting everything up, Marissa sat down with the papers in front of her. She started writing and it didn't take them much longer before they were entirely ready.

"Okay Marissa, before we get started I want you to know there's nothing to be worried about. We're gonna pull this off. You think you're ready?"

With her resolve face on she replied. "Never been more ready in my entire life. Bring it on."

As Luke turned on the camera, he gave Marissa a thumbs up sign.

"I, Marissa Caroline Cooper hereby declare I'm volunteering for the tests performed. I'm doing this willingly and give my full co-operation. I will answer in full honesty to all questions asked."

Luke stepped into the camera line. "I, doctor Luke Ward, psychiatrist at Foster's mental health center will be performing the tests according to the regulatory rules and protocols. We will start with a standard questionnaire."

Luke started sending questions Marissa's way. It started with the basic questions, having Marissa stating her name, date of birth, place of birth and more of that same routine. After that a statement was made on the purpose of the tests. Soon, Marissa was filling out paper after paper, answering more questions and then filling in more papers.

The hours went by quickly. At around three a.m. Luke decided to take a break so he could go over to Charlie and have the coffee they had agreed to.

So, Charlie, don't you think it's a perfect time for a hot cup of coffee? Luke asked upon entering Charlie's booth.

"Doctor Ward, I was starting to think you fell asleep on top of your papers!" Charlie said laughing.

"No, nowhere near sleep. I've just been working really hard. By the way, call me Luke, okay? I'm not here as some sort of a superior."

"Sure doc. Luke, that is." Charlie stood up to get the two of them a cup of coffee.

Luke was browsing through the huge pile of magazines to see if there was anything interesting in it. Just then he heard a familiar voice.

"Charlie, you in there?"

The door to the booth went open when doctor Hamilton stepped in. Luke's breath got caught in his throat. "Luke, what are you doing here at this time?" doctor Hamilton asked surprised.

Luke quickly regained his pose.

"Doctor Hamilton, how nice to see you. I'm just here to grab a quick cup of coffee with Charlie. I'm working on a few papers I need to finish soon, so I figured; Why stay locked away in my office alone when I can get a nice hot coffee with a guy like Charlie. After all, there's no better way to stay awake than having a heated discussion on the NFL."

"You got that right Luke, you got that right."

Charlie came back in with two steaming cups of coffee.

"Oh, doctor Hamilton, I didn't know you were here as well." The good natured guy smiled broadly once again. He definitely was one of a kind, most security guards at Foster's were old guys who hardly said anything besides a grumbling "Humbug"

"I just arrived. Just came to tell you I need to pick up a few papers, I'll be gone in five minutes again."

"Sure thing doctor. You sure you don't want a cup of coffee as well?" Charlie asked him.

Doctor Hamilton refused. "I would love to, but my wife is complaining enough as it is. I promised her I'd be back within half an hour, so if I want to live to tell the tale… well, I better get home within twenty minutes!"

"Okay, suit yourself. Will you let me know when you'll be leaving again?"

Doctor Hamilton nodded, then turned to walk out of the door.

With the closing of the door, some of the most nervous minutes of Luke's life began. He could only hope doctor Hamilton would not go anywhere near Marissa. If his equipment would be discovered, all hope was gone.

Minutes crawled by, but no sign of doctor Hamilton. Charlie was avidly talking about the NFL game that had been played earlier that evening. Luke tried to engage in the conversation, but found it difficult to keep his focus. His eyes darted to the door every thirty seconds or so. When Luke's worry really grew and he thought something might have gone wrong, doctor Hamilton finally stepped in again.

"Charlie, Luke, I got all I needed so I'm going to return to my lovely wife now." He said sarcastically. "Have a good night."

Luke never felt more relieved in his life. If something had gone wrong, doctor Hamilton would not be saying goodnight like this. Luke quickly drank the remainder of his coffee, thanked Charlie and rushed back to Marissa. This had been a narrow miss. He wasn't planning on having any more of those so the sooner they got finished, the better.

When he got back, the testing went on. Luke didn't mention the fact they had almost been caught to Marissa. The whole operation alone caused enough stress and he wouldn't put more pressure on Marissa than necessary.

The remainder of the night swiftly flew by and at around five a.m. they were ready to take the final statement for the National Medical Committee. In this statement, Marissa declared all that had happened. She spoke of the night her mother had sent her away, the events that had led up to that night and the things doctor Hamilton had told her about receiving money to keep her institutionalized.

Finally, Luke discussed the outcome of the tests, stating Marissa was perfectly sane and that he saw no reason why she had been committed for so many years, explaining why he believed there was no more reason to keep her at Foster's any longer.

"That's a wrap." He said when he turned off the camera. "You did great Marissa, and you proved what we knew all along. Everything is perfectly normal inside that pretty head of yours."

"Thank you so much Luke for doing this." Marissa said tiredly.

"It's no problem and you know it." He dismissed her 'thank you'

As he removed the mini-dvd from the camera, he spoke up.

"I was thinking…" he then put in an empty mini-dvd. "I was thinking that maybe you'd like to record one more thing on camera. How would you feel taping a message to Alex?"

No matter how tired she was, Marissa was fully awake again at the mentioning of Alex. And even more so because she finally got the chance to address her girlfriend herself with the help of the camera.

"Luke… that would be great."

"Then sit down and get ready." He once again pressed the record button, then held up his thumb.

"Hi Alex, it's me, Marissa. As you can obviously see." She started out visibly nervous.

Because Luke hadn't given her any time to really process the thought of speaking to Alex, Marissa had no idea what she was going to say. She just went along with whatever popped up in her head.

"So, I just found out like, two seconds ago, that I was going to be able to make you a video message. So if I look nervous… well, it's because I am. I've been waiting so long to be able to say something to you. Of course, in my mind I would tell you in person, but then again I'm happy enough to say anything to you. To know you'll actually hear it, and see it. To know it's not just thinking what I want to tell you, but to be able to put it into real words. It's strange in a way, but it feels SO good to me. I've been wanting to tell you all these years that I love you, I never stopped loving you and I never will. I miss everything about you. Your eyes, your voice, your smell, the feel of your arms around me. Just, everything."

She took a deep breath before continuing.

"I can't wait to get out of here, to take you in my arms again, to hold you and kiss you and to wake up next to you. I know we have to hold on a little longer, but I promise you that I'm never ever gonna let you go again once I get out. And we're gonna rebuilt all that was lost, and make it better. Every day with you will be like a fairytale to me, and I'm gonna treat you like my princess. So hold on a little longer, it won't be long anymore. Each breath we take from now on will bring us closer together. Each second that ticks away is one second closer to holding you. I'm thinking about you, and I'm fighting. For us. Together."

Marissa's eyes had started to water, so she wiped away the tears threatening to fall.

"Look honey, I'm starting to cry and I don't want to… So I'm gonna leave it at this for now. I love you sweetheart. Take care, and we'll see each other very soon. Bye baby."

Marissa ended her speech and Luke turned off the camera.

"I'll get this to Alex first thing in the morning. Are you gonna be alright?" Luke asked concerned.

"Yeah, I'll be okay. You should go. I don't think we can push our luck much longer."

"I agree, we shouldn't jinx it." Luke gathered all his stuff together, then checked again to see if he hadn't left anything that could get them caught.

"Take care Marissa. I'll see you soon again." With that being said, he left. One special delivery was to be made to Alex Kelly.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

It was once again nine a.m. when Luke showed up at Alex's door.

As it had been only six a.m. when Marissa and Luke had wrapped up completely for the night, the first thing Luke had done was go over to his house and review his footage. He did not edit anything, for this might ruin his evidence. He was pretty satisfied with the way it had turned out. Then, he viewed Marissa's message to Alex. He was moved by it when he saw Marissa record it and he was moved again upon watching it. By a quarter to nine he left his house with a good feeling. Just maybe, happy endings do exist.

This time when he knocked on Alex's door it almost immediately flew open. Alex knew he had gone to Marissa's that night, so she herself had been up since seven a.m.

Anxiously she pulled Luke in, almost making him trip over the threshold in the process.

"So, how did it go? Did she pass? Do you have enough evidence to go to that committee-thing?" she spoke rapidly. However there was no excitement in her voice, just huge question marks.

"Calm down Alex, take time to breathe as well!" he said smiling.

The tone of his voice and the choice of words already told Alex everything she needed to know. If Luke could smile and make jokes about her condition… well, Marissa simply must have passed. But her heart was still afraid of being hurt, so she tried to keep herself desperately from jumping to conclusions. With big questioning eyes she looked up at Luke.

"That's more like it. Now to give you your answers; Yes, she passed. No crazy psycho bitch, no soon-to-be-serial-killer, no reason to keep her there whatsoever, no doubt in my mind."

Alex nearly jumped Luke over, wrapping him in a giant hug.

"I knew it! I knew it!" Alex almost shouted at the top of her lungs. She had not been this happy and excited for a long time. But the words Luke had uttered, they had lifted a huge weight from her shoulders. Still clinging to Luke a smile started to make its way onto Alex's face. 'This guy should have become goddamn Cupid instead of a psychiatrist' she thought to herself. Her heart seemed to jump for a moment when she realized she'd just been making a joke inside her head. Her smile widened even more as she could feel bits and pieces of happiness returning to her soul.

It was almost as if Luke had entered Alex's mind and heard what she had been thinking, for he chose that moment to tell Alex about his surprise.

Luke pulled back from the slim blonde girl.

"I'm so glad I could bring you this good news… but I think I might have something even better for you. Come and sit down for a moment." He sat down and patted the couch, motioning for Alex to sit down next to him.

When Luke asked Alex to sit down an unsettling feeling came over her. There was something about that phrase 'sit down for a moment'

It's the phrase parents use when they are about to tell you they want to get a divorce, it's what cops use right before telling you your brother died in a car accident. It's one of those phrases that's a bad omen most of the times. It didn't matter that Luke also used the words 'something even better,' the phrase alone set of alarm bells in Alex's head.

She had no idea what was coming next so naturally to her, the happiness she felt was starting to fade and a shadow slowly made its way over. Dark feelings always seemed to linger more than light feelings. With all that had happened during the last seven years, this dark side had become more accessible to Alex. It was simply more easy to think things were bad. This was her shield, her protective aura. Don't believe in good stuff until it actually happens. Sure, she fought full heartedly for stuff she wanted to believe in but in the back of her mind there was always that shadow. It had become Alex's way of living.

So Alex would not believe Luke could bring her something better until Luke could prove it. She cautiously sat down next to Luke. For a moment she felt angry with herself for doubting Luke when he had brought her so much hope and happiness in the past few weeks. But another part of her realized that this was simply the aftermath of seven years of pain. Her trust in the world had been ripped away too many times before. It would take her time to heal and start trusting in the good of this world again. Time, and Marissa.

Upon realizing this, she started to relax again. The fact she could reach into the depth of her soul and SEE what she was doing to herself meant she was ready for change. It meant she was ready to start pushing away darkness and make way for the light.

Only seconds had passed while all these thoughts crossed Alex's mind. Luke in the meantime had reached in his bag and pulled out a dvd case.

Unaware of the inner struggle Alex had had in the meantime, he smiled at her.

"So, I have this surprise for you. I could give you an explanation first but honestly, I think it's best if we just watch it."


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 

Luke had turned on the dvd player and tv, then moved to stand behind Alex. He purposely chose this position for he did not want to interfere while Alex would see what she was about to. He moved his hand so the infrared of the remote control could reach the dvd player, then pressed Play.

There was a blue screen for about two seconds, then Marissa's face appeared on screen. Luke heard the sharp inhale of breath coming from Alex.

When Alex first caught sight of Marissa, she felt more emotions than she even knew possible. Happiness, sadness, worry, shock, love, longing, fear and all those unnamable emotions in between settled themselves on her heart.

In that first second Alex saw Marissa, she could already see her girlfriend had lost a lot of weight. Marissa's face had become thin, her cheekbones more visible than ever before. The girl looked fragile.

Alex could see that the time at Foster's had definitely taken its toll on the once so lively girl. Shoulders hunched over, she sat there, looking into the camera. Marissa's pose worried Alex.

But then she saw that familiar sparkle returning to Marissa's eyes. The moment her mouth started forming words it was there, as powerful as it always used to be. Pride was added to the whirlwind of emotions Alex felt. She was proud of her girl because she saw the fighter in Marissa, she saw the sparkle that beamed love. And that love was obviously the fire behind Marissa's resistance to give up.

Alex knew in her heart that Luke never had lied to her about Marissa still being in love. But to see the sparkle return to Marissa's tired eyes… it was the confirmation Alex had been needing.

She felt her heartbeat speeding up, while she tried to focus on everything at once. When that didn't work out, she settled for watching Marissa's eyes while concentrating on the words pouring from her lips.

"So, I just found out like, two seconds ago, that I was going to be able to make you a video message. So if I look nervous… well, it's because I am." Alex's lips curled up into a tiny smile when she heard Marissa speak her words.

"I've been waiting so long to be able to say something to you. Of course, in my mind I would tell you in person, but then again I'm happy enough to say anything to you. To know you'll actually hear it, and see it. To know it's not just thinking what I want to tell you, but to be able to put it into real words."

Alex's eyes started stinging. She swallowed a few times to try and keep her emotions at bay. She knew what Marissa must have felt, because she could feel it too. The pain that came along with knowing you couldn't be there yourself, but the relief of at least being able to address your loved one directly.

"It's strange in a way, but it feels SO good to me. I've been wanting to tell you all these years that I love you, I never stopped loving you and I never will. I miss everything about you. Your eyes, your voice, your smell, the feel of your arms around me. Just, everything."

By the time Marissa spoke the word love, Alex couldn't control the stinging tears any longer. Without a sound they had started to fall.

"I can't wait to get out of here, to take you in my arms again, to hold you and kiss you and to wake up next to you. I know we have to hold on a little longer, but I promise you that I'm never ever gonna let you go again once I get out. And we're gonna rebuilt all that was lost, and make it better."

Unconsciously Alex nodded her head, silently agreeing with Marissa. Never ever again would they be apart, she would do anything to prevent that. Hell, they'd fly to the moon if necessary. But no object, living or not, would be able to come in between them.

"Every day with you will be like a fairytale to me, and I'm gonna treat you like my princess. So hold on a little longer, it won't be long anymore. Each breath we take from now on will bring us closer together. Each second that ticks away is one second closer to holding you. I'm thinking about you, and I'm fighting. For us. Together."

With the tears still flowing, Alex found herself once again smiling. Alex always thought she'd be the 'knight in shining armor' and Marissa would be her 'damsel in distress' or princess. Yet here was Marissa calling Alex her princess. She realized the both of them would fulfill the roles of 'knight' and 'princess' and it felt pretty right to her. They were equals.

The other thing that echoed in her ears, was when Marissa spoke of each breath bringing them closer together. Never before had Alex paid attention to the rise and fall of her chest, but she found herself doing just that. It gave a whole different dimension to taking in oxygen.

She saw Marissa's eyes had gotten watery, and she watched as Marissa wiped at them. It weighed heavily on Alex's heart, seeing this.

"Look honey, I'm starting to cry and I don't want to… So I'm gonna leave it at this for now. I love you sweetheart. Take care, and we'll see each other very soon. Bye baby."

The screen went blue again, much sooner than Alex had hoped. But she did notice that the darkness she felt before had been chased away again. Love, lightness and hope were the reigning emotions. She sat quietly on her couch, staring at the blue screen lost in the feeling of these emotions. She had pretty much forgotten Luke was still there, until she saw the screen turning black again when Luke turned it off. This action seemed to bring her back into the real world.

He moved to sit next to her. "Are you gonna be alright?" he asked Alex the same question he had asked Marissa earlier that morning.

Alex cleared her throat, hoping her voice would work. "Yes, I will." she replied. She thought about what she just said, then spoke up again. "I am."

Luke wasn't sure if he could believe Alex. "Are you sure?"

Alex nodded. "Yes, completely sure. I don't think I can put into words how much this means to me. Seeing Marissa…" she went silent for a few seconds. "Life can only get better from here."

"And it will" Luke spoke reassuringly before a comfortable silence settled over them.

"Come on Marissa, wake up!" doctor Hamilton violently shook Marissa to try and wake her up. It was three p.m. and Marissa had been sound asleep when doctor Hamilton came by.

Once every two weeks, he would come by for a thirty minute talk with Marissa. Not that there was much talk coming from her, but it was a procedure doctor Hamilton had to follow to keep Marissa committed. If he never saw his 'patient' people might get suspicious. So every two weeks he would show up, taunt Marissa for a while, scribble down some notes and then leave again.

Marissa stirred before opening her eyes to the man she'd come to despise so much.

"Great" she muttered. "The one day I want to sleep in my 'doctor' decides to show up"

"Now missy, I think you're in no position to talk to me like that." Doctor Hamilton said in the same arrogant tone he always used when talking to Marissa.

Most of the times his arrogance would make Marissa boil inside but since Luke's last visit, Marissa could no longer be bothered by it. She remembered something Alex had once told her about dealing with her mother. Sure, doctor Hamilton wasn't exactly her mother but this seemed a perfect moment to take up Alex's advice from that afternoon.

She took a deep breath, forced her lips into a smile and then said "Interesting idea doctor Hamilton, I'll give that some thought."

This comment caught doctor Hamilton completely of guard. Marissa noticed and smiled smugly at him.

"Yes. Well. Good. You do that." He simply couldn't think of anything else to say.

It took him a few minutes of rummaging through his papers to get back on track.

"So, any news Marissa?"

"Yes, I counted the dots on the ceiling again and it turns out I was wrong before. I always thought there were 10476 dots, now after numerous recounts it turns out to be 10483." She said with a straight face.

"Funny Marissa, you're on the roll today." Doctor Hamilton sighed heavily. "Be that way if you like to. I'm not gonna waste my energy on you. I'll see you in two weeks."

He walked out of the door, thinking to himself. "God, that woman drives me crazy. If it wasn't for the money…"


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Four days after seeing Alex, Luke stood in front of two large glass doors. On them was written 'National Medical Committee' in large curly letters.

Luke took a deep breath before pushing the doors open and walking in.

When he entered the building, he took a quick glance around. It seemed almost like a hotel with its marble floors and a large fountain in the middle of the foyer.

He walked over to the reception.

"Good afternoon sir, how can I help you?" a young blonde woman asked him.

"I'm here to file a complaint about a psychiatrist. I have an appointment with a certain doctor…" he looked down at the tiny piece of paper in his hand "doctor Wu"

"Ah yes, you must be doctor Ward then. You can just take the elevator up to the fourth floor. it's the second door on the right. You can just walk through. I'll let doctor Wu know you're coming up." She shot Luke a beaming smile.

"Thank you." He said smiling back at her. He made his way over to the elevator.

Only minutes later he stood in front of the door to doctor Wu's office.

Sighing "Here goes nothing" to himself, he entered.

Alex was at the Bait Shop doing some paper work. No matter what was going on in her personal life, she needed to make a living too and the customers were expecting the Bait Shop to open each night. So as hard as it was for her to concentrate, she still sat there on the edge of the stage surrounded by endless amounts of paper.

She sighed deeply trying to focus once again on the numbers, but they seemed to be dancing in front of her eyes. Her eyes stung and her head ached. Putting her fingers to the side of her head she tried to massage the tension out, but to no avail. Since she'd seen Marissa on the dvd Luke had brought her she couldn't get the images out of her head.

When she was at home the dvd would be put on repeat. Alex had been watching it all the time, she'd memorized the words. At first she'd even counted the times she'd watch it but after 293 times she gave up on that. That one small disc had almost become her life, minute after minute, hour after hour and day after day.

When she was in bed at night, the same images and words would be on repeat in her head. The combination of not wanting to sleep and not being able to, had led to nights with hardly any sleep in them. Four nights in a row, she hadn't slept for more than two hours. It was starting to show; Alex had become even more pale and she was no longer able to disguise the bags underneath her eyes with cosmetics. Exhaustion was really getting to her.

So in the process of trying to stay awake and focusing on her work, she didn't notice the door opening and a brunette stepping in.

"Alex?" the voice belonging to this female spoke up.

"Doctor Ward, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm doctor Wu. Please have a seat." Doctor Wu said extending his hand. Luke shook it and then sat down on the chair right in front of doctor Wu's desk. He took in his surroundings. Doctor Wu was an elderly man, somewhere in his sixties. On his desks were a lot of frames containing pictures of what Luke assumed were his children and wife. He seemed like the sort of person who had it all.

"I understand you're here to file a complaint about Foster's Mental Health Center." Doctor Wu spoke, pulling Luke from his thoughts.

"Yes. No. Well, I'm not sure really. I'm here to file a complaint about doctor Hamilton who works there, I'm not sure if the director of Foster's knows what's going on himself so I can't say I'm here to file a complaint about the center itself."

"I see. Well, I must say you've made me curious so why don't you tell me the exact nature of your complaint." Doctor Wu sat back in his chair, obviously making himself ready for a long talk.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 

Alex turned around when she heard the voice. It was a voice she hadn't heard for a long time. Disbelievingly she took a long hard look at the female. Her eyes seemed to shoot fire and with a bitter voice she finally spoke.

"Look who's back in town." She said still sitting on the edge of the stage.

"Summer." Alexspoke the name as if it was some kind of venom.

"I know you're mad Alex…" Summer started carefully.

Before she could finish her sentence Alex jumped off the stage, lunged forward and stopped just inches from Summer's face.

"Mad does NOT cover it." She spat out. "I understand you didn't know how to handle the situation when Marissa got put away. But a real friend does not just give up on their Best. Friend." She punctuated her last words to empathize them.

"You didn't even stop to think about what they were doing to her. You didn't visit her once! You just went on with your life, you were too wrapped up in Seth to stop and think about doing something to help those who DO love Marissa. Or Marissa herself."

Her voice softened a bit and she took a step back from Summer. Emotionally, her voice filled with obvious pain she continued.

"You were one of the few who had the chance to go in there, to visit her and see how she was doing. To tell her the people on the outside still care for her. But you didn't."

Anger flashed in her eyes again. "So mad, no. Furious is more like it. You disgust me. I just really want to place my fist in your face right now. You're lucky I've grown older and wiser."

Summer's lips had started to tremble. She knew Alex was right and there was no way around it.

"You're right. And I'm so sorry I didn't. But I can't delete the past, I can't take away what has happened."

"Then what are you doing here?" Alex asked. She was boiling inside and couldn't keep the harsh tone from her voice.

"Seth and I are here to visit our parents. I had to know if anything changed, if Marissa got out yet… But I understand she's still in." her voice had become barely audible when she spoke her last words.

Alex could see it really was hard on Summer to speak and think about it, to deal with the guilt. She pushed her anger as far away as she could. It took all her strength to do so.

"Yes, she is. But it won't be long before we'll get her out. Things are changing for the better, at last."

Summer took a moment to ponder what had just been said to her. She wanted to know what Alex had meant when saying Marissa would be out soon. But she knew she was in no position to actually ask what was going on. She had given up that right. So she said the only thing she could think of. "You must really love her if you're still fighting for her."

"More than life itself. And I will until the moment my last breath leaves my lips." Alex concluded, effectively ending the conversation. Summer left without saying anything else.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"So here I have all my reports on the patient," Luke said handing a pile of papers to doctor Wu, "and this is the dvd I was talking about." He handed the dvd case to doctor Wu as well.

"You've convinced me doctor Ward. I will review all this material and we'll conduct an investigation on doctor Hamilton. But with all you've done already, I doubt we'll be needing to investigate a lot. It seems to me we've already got enough information to bring him to court. However my number one priority right now is releasing this young lady. I'll get back to you as soon as possible." Doctor Wu said standing up. He extended his hand to Luke again.

"Thank you for all your hard work on this. If all doctors would pay as much attention to the signs as you did, I would be out of a job."

"You're welcome doctor, I'm just trying to do my job."

"Well, you succeeded."

Later that evening Alex was lying on her couch, watching some cartoon on Nickelodeon. She used to like watching them before leaving for work, but tonight she wasn't really in the mood. The whole situation with Summer had drained pretty much all the life force there was left in her. Absently she took another sip of her beer, when the phone started to ring.

"Hello?" she spoke into her phone.

"Alex, hi, it's Luke."

Alex sat up quickly. Up until today Luke always had come by when he had news about Marissa and the situation they were in. The tight pull of worry immediately settled around her heart.

"Luke, what's wrong?" she asked him.

"Oh, I'm sorry, nothing is wrong. I would've come by in person, but my wife wants me here tonight so that's why I'm calling you. I just wanted to let you know I spoke to doctor Wu of the National Medical Committee. And it's good news; they're starting up an investigation."

Alex let out the breath she'd been holding in. Her heartbeat sped up.

"Thank God" she breathed.

"Doctor Wu even said his first priority is to get Marissa out." Luke said, before Alex heard a female voice yelling for Luke to get off the phone.

"Listen, I've gotta go, my wife wants me to put the little one to bed. But hang in there, it will all be over soon." He told Alex to once again reassure her. Then he hung up to go be with his wife and kid.

Alex felt more than a little relieved after the phone call. This news, it was the first solid proof that Marissa really would get out soon. The fight with Summer the same afternoon didn't matter to her anymore. It seemed so trivial.

Slowly but surely, she was changing into a person who could hope and believe again. A person with the life force of blood running through her veins, warming her to the world. She knew, if given enough time, she would learn to like this world again. She would start enjoying life and she would appreciate the beauty that it held, the beauty she had been blind for since Marissa had been taken away.

As if to toast on the realization she took a huge gulp of her beer and then realized something in continuation to her thoughts before..

Luke had been talking about his wife and putting the little one to bed. Guiltily Alex had to admit to herself that she had no idea Luke was married, let alone that he was a father. She hardly knew anything about his life. Till this day, she had not opened her eyes to see the person behind Luke. She hadn't appreciated her friendship with him the way she should have.

As she grabbed her coat to leave for work, Alex made a mental note to herself. She would definitely ask Luke about his wife and kid and invest more in their friendship. And in doing so, she knew she would start seeing beauty. She already started to see it by just thinking about her friendship with Luke and she knew hearing about his wife and kid would add to this emotion. As she pulled the door to a close behind her she noticed the orange sun setting. She let her eyes rest on it for a moment. A smile lit up her face.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 

Two weeks went by without anything happening. Each day Luke would hope to hear something from doctor Wu while Alex would hope Luke would contact here. Marissa in the meantime would just hope for any sign from 'the outside world.'

It became October 15th. Luke got home early from work at Foster's. He closed the door behind him quietly and walked over to the couch where his wife Lacey was sleeping. Softly kissing her cheek, he whispered "Honey. Honey. I'm home"

Lacey stirred, yawned and opened her eyes slightly.

"Luke, you're home early."

"Yeah, I didn't have all that much to do today. How's everything here?"

"Just fine. Jason's sleeping upstairs so I figured I would do a little nap myself. Oh, and there's mail for you from that committee thing. I put it on your desk."

"The National Medical Committee?"

"Yeah, that one" Lacey stifled another yawn.

"I'll be right back honey."

Luke went upstairs to his little working space, then walked over to his desk and examined the envelope carefully before opening it.

In it he found a small handwritten folded note from doctor Wu. He let his fingers feel the structure of the paper before unfolding it. His eyes flew over it quickly.

Doctor Ward 

_Hereby I would like to inform you that we've reviewed your case and we've reached the following conclusion._

_We believe there is no valid reason to keep miss Cooper institutionalized any longer. I myself will notify the director of Foster's Wednesday October 17th with a legal release-order. I would like it if you could be present at this time, since you are familiar with the patient. We will need to run some basic tests on her but it's not necessary to keep her committed for this. _

_I will also bring a warrant as we will start up a thorough investigation on doctor Hamilton. _

_I would like to thank you once again for bringing this case to our attention. Your help is greatly appreciated._

_Doctor Wu. _

_Ps. I'll be at Foster's Wednesday at two p.m. sharp. Please meet me at the gate. If you have any further questions, you can call me at 555-3239. _

Luke hardly could believe his eyes. He read the note again a few more times, all the while muttering to himself "She's getting out. She's getting out Wednesday." But no matter how many times he repeated it, he could not believe it. All the long waiting, all the hard work… and then out of the blue, she would be getting out. Just like that.

He picked up the phone. Impatiently tapping his fingers at the edge of his desk, he waited until doctor Wu picked up.

"Doctor Wu, it's Luke Ward."

"Ah, I take it you've received my note?" his smile could be heard through his voice. He too had been relieved when he had gotten the letter telling him he would get a release order for Marissa Cooper. These were the times when he knew why he had chosen this profession: for the simple feeling of being able to do good, to help those people who **really **needed it. His attention returned to Luke.

"Yes, I have. And I'm sorry if I seem a bit too eager here, but I must verify something. You're saying that you will actually release Marissa Wednesday, right?" Disbelief was obvious in his voice.

"You've got it right Luke, I have my release order signed and ready. Wednesday she'll get to go home."

"Oh my God." Luke sat down, his head between his knees but the phone still clutched to his ear.

"Are you okay doctor? Doctor Wu asked slightly worried.

"Yes, sorry. I just. Well, it's kind of a shock, in a good way of course. What happens once she gets out?"

"She's free. She can go wherever she likes, start up her life again. She'll need to give us a phone number and address where we can reach her so we can schedule some basic tests that need to be done by NMC officials, but that's all. I told you before; you've already done most of our job. Everyone agreed that there's no reason to believe she won't pass the official tests here."

"She can just go home?" Luke double-checked everything before he let himself believe all he was hearing.

"Yes, she can just go home." Doctor Wu affirmed.

Then the image of Alex flashed in front of Luke's eyes. "Oh god, Alex." He gasped.

"Alex?" doctor Wu asked confused. Luke regained control of his breath. "Alex. She's Marissa's girlfriend. She's her home."

"Then I think you should let her know Marissa will be home soon."

"I will, I'll go tell her this evening… but can I ask you a question?" Luke hesitated

"Sure, what is it?"

"I know this is a big official happening. But do you think it would be possible if Alex came along to take Marissa home? I think it's what both of them want most. To see each other the minute Marissa gets out."

Doctor Wu pondered the question for a moment.

"As far as I'm concerned you can bring her along. But you're right about this being official business, so I must ask her to wait at the gate."

Luke let out a breath he didn't even realize he had been holding.

"That's fine doctor, you have no idea what it will mean to her and Marissa if she's there, waiting at the gate. I really appreciate this, you know."

"I know you do. Now I'll see you Wednesday, right?"

"Yes, I'll be there two p.m. sharp. Thank you once again doctor." Luke replied

"You're welcome. Take care doctor Ward."

With that, the conversation ended. Luke let himself fall back in his chair, his right hand still clutching the phone while his left hand flew through his hair. He noticed his hands where trembling. Quietly he muttered to himself "All this time waiting for the one letter or phone call, all this time preparing mentally. But when it comes, you're never ready."


	13. Chapter 12

_Before we continue with the storyI would_ _like to thank everyone who has been replying so far: Thank you all so much! There's no way I can ever tell you just how much I appreciate it that you've taken the time totell me what you think of my story. You are amazing! _

Chapter 12

If it had been up to Luke he would have gone over to Alex's right away. But Lacey had different thoughts. She could understand Luke's happiness over the release of Marissa. She had offered an ear willing to listen to all his worries about his high school girlfriend during the past weeks. But her priority was her own family. And after all, who could blame her?

So Luke had to wait until Jason had gone to sleep before he was 'allowed' to go over to Alex. By that time, he knew he wouldn't find Alex at home. She had to work at the Bait Shop, so he went over there. While he was in his car he was trying to figure out how on earth he was going to break this news to Alex. What do you say when you get to tell someone she's about to get her lover back after such a long time?

"So Alex, I have good news for you. Marissa's coming home the day after tomorrow." Too simple. Too direct. "Alex, there's something I want to tell you. I'm not sure how…" Too much like 'ooh, Alex, I accidentally killed your puppy'

"Alex, you better get ready for the ride of your life. Today I got the news we've been waiting for. Marissa will be released the day after tomorrow." Starting to look like it, but still not completely right. Luke did not have any more time to think about it, because on his left he saw the flashing sign of the Bait Shop. He parked his car before slowly getting out.

The Bait Shop was packed that night. Modest Mouse was still going strong after many years, so when the news got out they were going to play at the Bait Shop a lot of young Newport residents had left their homework to go and watch them play live. As Luke got in he scanned the crowd to see if he could find Alex. It didn't take him long to spot her.

Carefully maneuvering through the kids crowding the stairs, he made his way down. He walked over to the bar where Alex was shouting orders at her staff.

"Joe, Sharon, could you two please do a round to gather empty glasses? Oh, and while you're at it, empty the ashtrays. Mandy, get Frankie from the office, he should have been back from his break ten minutes ago! And Isaac, will you go and help Robin at the bar? I don't think she can handle this growing crowd much longer on her own. And thanks guys, you're doing great!"

For a moment she stopped to grab a bottle of water. Quickly she gulped it in before carelessly throwing it into a garbage can. She grabbed her clipboard and started moving towards the office that Frankie and Mandy were just exiting. Luke knew this would be the perfect time to corner Alex.

He walked up to her as quickly as he could, knocking a couple of teenagers out of his way, and only managed to grab her arm just before she opened the door to her office. "Alex, wait."

Alex spun around quickly. "Luke!" she saw his eyes move from her own to the door of her office and she immediately got the message.

"Come in here." She closed the door behind them quickly while her eyes tried to read Luke's expression. She found it impossible to read him so expectantly she stared him in the eye.

With Alex's eyes focused on him, Luke felt once again the pressure. He still hadn't thought of how exactly he would tell Alex his great news. But there was no more time to think or worry about that, he had to tell her now.

"Okay, I know this is definitely not the right place and probably also not the best time, but I don't think it would be fair if I kept this from you any longer than necessary." He paused for a second, trying to think of the best way to tell Alex. But then he realized that suspense was not what Alex needed. So smiling broadly he blurted it out.

"Wednesday. She'll be coming home Wednesday Alex. They're going to get her away from Foster's with a release order." Unable to keep his own emotions at bay any longer he let a few silent tears fall. The whole situation had touched him more than he had admitted to anyone.

Alex's entire body tensed for a second before she collapsed in Luke's arms. He just caught her in time as she started sobbing uncontrollably. But these were happy tears, Luke could feel the smile of Alex on his shoulders. Alex tried to comprehend the feelings surging through her, but she couldn't. Her mind was blank, her heart overflowing. She stayed in Luke's arms for several minutes, tears flowing freely all the time.

Finally she pulled away and spoke up with a cracking voice. "She'll be home Wednesday. You better not be pulling a stupid joke at me now mister Ward." She poked him in his chest with her index finger, a smile visible. She didn't mean what she said of course, she knew Luke would never make jokes about the situation.

Luke smiled back at her. His own tears had by now subsided.

"Never Al, never."

They went silent for a moment and both of them focused on the lyrics of the uplifting song Modest Mouse was playing.

Alright, already, we'll all float on Alright don't worry even if things end up a bit 

_Too heavy we'll all float on _

_Alright_

Alex's smile only grew as she realized Modest Mouse got it exactly right.

As she dried her last tears, she spoke up to Luke again.

"When did you find out?"

"Just this evening, when I got home from work. There was a small note that doctor Wu of the NMC had written me. It said he would release Marissa Wednesday. I didn't believe it at first, but I called him and he confirmed it."

"So what happens next?" Alex surprised herself by asking these questions so calmly. She knew however that now more than ever, she needed to keep herself together.

"I still don't know all the details myself, but here's what I do know. Wednesday doctor Wu will come over with the release order. He will personally release her and after that she can come home with you. At least, I assume you don't mind taking her to your place, she doesn't have anywhere else to go…" Luke said it cautiously, although not so deep down he already knew the answer.

Alex almost jumped up, her voice pitching high.

"Are you goddamn kidding here? I wouldn't have her go anywhere else!"

"Good, that's settled then. We need to give them your address and phone number so they can contact Marissa for a few more tests. It's policy that the NMC does some tests of their own, but doctor Wu assured me it's just a formality. Bottom line; she's free the second her toe touches the ground outside the gate."

Alex dreaded asking the next question but she simply had to know.

"Can I come along?" She spoke the words rapidly.

"You can, but unfortunately you have to wait outside for Marissa. Since it's an official procedure, I'm not allowed to take you inside." He looked down feeling sorry for Alex, but he also knew it was for the best. Knowing Alex, she would probably attack doctor Hamilton should they run into him. It would do nobody any good if that happened.

"But I can wait at the gate? I can be there for her once she steps out?" her voice was filled with concern as she suddenly realized the big impact this would have on Marissa. After seven years away from the world as she knew it, they would have to start rebuilding both Marissa's life and their relationship together. But Alex would make sure she'd be by Marissa's side all the time.

"Definitely. I wouldn't see it any other way." Luke smiled reassuringly at the blonde woman.

Alex took a deep breath, relieved. She sat back in her chair and stared at her hands.

"I can't believe she's coming home at last. All this time I've been hoping this would happen, and now I don't know what to do. I guess I should start by cleaning my apartment." She said her last words chuckling.

Luke himself chuckled as well. "Yeah, because your place is always such a mess!"

He said this sarcastically, because he knew all too well that Alex had actually become a very tidy person. Except for the time he had visited her when she had been hung over, her apartment was always clean enough to be able to eat from the floor. It was definitely one of the changes that could be 'blamed' on growing up.

"Fine, mock me if you like. But I want everything to be perfect for Marissa." Alex replied lightheartedly. After the initial shock she had recovered and she felt like her whole body was light as a feather. She felt like joking and smiling, like dancing to the cheeriest tune she could find and like running along the shoreline, feeling the salty breeze surrounding her body. If she had ever truly experienced something that could be described as being 'high on life' this was it.

Luke stood up, grabbing his coat in a fluid motion.

"And it will be perfect! Listen, I'm glad I got to bring you some good news at last, but Lacey asked me if I wouldn't stay out too long tonight… and I believe you're pretty busy as well with this huge crowd here, so I'll let you go back to work. But I'll see you Wednesday… say around a quarter to two?"

"Works for me. Thanks, Luke. For everything."

"Ah, don't mention it Alex. Just take care." Luke started making his way out of the door. Just before he stepped out of the office, Alex jumped up.

"Luke, wait! I was thinking, once Marissa is out… well, maybe you would like to come over to dinner someday with your wife and kid? Not immediately, but in a couple of weeks or so?"

Alex asked this, thinking back to the pledge she had made to herself recently.

Luke nodded affirmative. "I would really like that. I'm sure Lacey would also love to meet you and Marissa."

"Great! We'll pick a date soon then."

Luke shot Alex one more smile before exiting her office. Alex grabbed her clipboard and made her way back into the crowd as well, but she hardly noticed anything going on around her. She was walking on clouds.


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 

Wednesday came sooner than anyone had expected. Time went by at the same speed it always did, but strangely it felt to Alex as if it had gone by in a heartbeat. This was probably due to the fact that she had been so busy trying to get everything ready for the return of Marissa.

Tuesday, while Luke had been occupied at work, the first thing Alex had done was taking two weeks off from her own job. That way she would have the time to be there completely for Marissa during the first weeks.

Once she had taken care of that, she'd returned back home to start cleaning up. As far as dirt was concerned it wasn't really necessary. However, she did need to make space in her closet. Fortunately she had a big walk-in closet, and it only took her a little rearranging before she had more than enough space for Marissa.

After this rearrangement, Alex went shopping for groceries. Her refrigerator only had two microwave meals, a few bottles of water and a couple of beers in it. With Marissa coming home Alex decided it was time to finally get back to healthy meals and real food. Besides that, she bought stuff like a new toothbrush, a mug with Marissa's name on it, a hairbrush and a new cell phone, all for Marissa of course. One of the most special things she bought was a wooden plate for her door, saying 'Marissa and Alex Kelly' She put it up the minute she got home.

She also bought a few plants and flowers for her house. She knew Marissa loved having flowers at home, simply because it made a house feel more alive. As Alex herself had not felt alive in a long time, she had neglected buying flowers and plants. The one plant she still had, had died years ago. She had never bothered to remove it until now. This was just the right time to replace it by something living and growing.

She had also bought a single red rose, with the intention of giving this to Marissa the moment she would step out.

Another thing she had done, was picking out her outfit for the next day. Marissa had once mentioned that she loved it when Alex wore black shirts on top of a denim skirt, or jeans. It was casual, but Marissa really liked it on Alex. So Alex picked exactly that, denim jeans, a black shirt and a thin black cardigan to wear on top of it. Her outfit was draped over a chair in her bedroom, waiting for the next day.

Alex paid attention to all the details. She had said she wanted everything to be perfect for Marissa's return, so she even made sure she had a cd of Marissa's favorite band, The Clash in her car. She had dug up Marissa's old purple Care bear and had placed it at the nightstand that would become Marissa's. Everything was completely ready, the only thing still missing was Marissa herself.

Wednesday morning nerves started to show. Alex kept running through her house to check if everything was the way it was supposed to be. She opened the door to her closet, checking if there really was enough space for Marissa's stuff. She kept replacing her framed photo's, only to put them back in their old place a few minutes later. She ran to her car to see if she really had enough gas, then back into the house to see if the rose she bought Marissa was still looking as beautiful as it did the day before. After that she'd check the time and the process would repeat itself.

By a quarter past one, Alex could finally leave for Foster's. She would be early, but she didn't want to take any chances. Just a little after half past one, Alex parked her car. She got out slowly, taking a long look at the giant old building that was surrounded by an electric fence. This electric fence had been placed after Alex tried to climb over the old one. As she stood there, chills ran up and down Alex's spine. It was a strange feeling, knowing Marissa was in there completely unaware of the fact she was about to get released. She stared down at the rose she was holding for Marissa.

Because she was about ten minutes early, she crossed the street to grab a cup of coffee at Starbucks. When she returned from her cup of coffee, Luke was already waiting at the gate.

"Alex, hi." He gave her a quick one armed hug and kissed her cheek. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm okay, I guess. Nervous as hell." Alex replied honestly. Her cheeks were flushed and her voice had a slight tremble to it.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine, I promise." Luke spoke reassuringly. "Doctor Wu should be here in a few minutes."

Just as he spoke those words, a black car came around the corner, followed by two police cars. Doctor Wu got out of the black car and three police officers stepped out of the police cars.

"Doctor Ward, a pleasure to see you again." Doctor Wu noticed Alex, holding her rose. "And you must be Alex, right?" He spoke calmly as he extended his hand to Alex. She however was panicking because of the police officers that had joined doctor Wu.

"Yes, I am. What are they doing here?" Alex sounded upset as she asked her question.

"They are here for my assistance, in case doctor Hamilton or someone else stirs up trouble. We have an official order to release Marissa, but just to be sure we've brought them along."

Alex visibly relaxed as she heard this. Luke shot her a comforting smile as he spoke up.

"Doctor Wu, officers, I think we've kept Marissa in there long enough. Shall we go in?"

Everybody nodded their heads, agreeing with Luke. He quickly turned to Alex and gave her one more hug.

"Don't worry, okay? You just wait here and we'll be back with Marissa as soon as possible. It might take a while, but that's because it's all official stuff. We'll make it as quick as we can."

One of the police officers returned to his car. The four remaining men made their way onto Foster's grounds, leaving Alex all by herself for the longest wait of her life.


	15. Chapter 14

_Once again I would like to thank those who replied for some amazingly kind feedback, you people make me feel so special ;-)_

_Now **Chelsea** and **SVU Chicky**, hope I haven't killed you yet with the long wait... and I hope the wait after this chapter doesn't kill you either. ;-) _

_Thanks again all, hope you enjoy this chapter as well_

Chapter 14

Luke knocked on the window of the security booth. "Charlie, are you in there?"

The window went open and Charlie stuck his head out. "Luke… and gentlemen. How can I help you?"

Luke took the liberty of answering. "Charlie, this is doctor Wu of the National Medical Committee. He is here to see the director of Foster's, as are these two officers. Could I get visitors passes for them?

"Sure, they just need to sign these forms." He rummaged around for a few seconds before turning up a few forms and pens. The three men quickly signed and handed the papers over in exchange for the visitors passes.

"Make sure to wear them in a way they are always visible." Charlie said before closing the window to his booth again. Luke quickly entered Foster's, tagging the three men along. He led them through the long blue corridors, straight to the office of the director of Foster's.

"There you are doctor Wu, this is the office of doctor Rogers, he is the director of Foster's."

"Thank you doctor Ward. I'll try to make this quick, would you mind waiting here for me?"

"Not at all doctor. Good luck."

Only a few minutes had passed since the men had gone inside, so Alex still stood nervously waiting at the gate. She was driving herself crazy by only staring at the gate, so she had decided to tear her eyes away from the doors and fence, instead watching everything else. At this moment she was trying to focus on two small birds that were seemingly arguing about a piece of bread. She was completely oblivious to the person walking up to her.

"What in God's name are you doing here miss Kelly? I thought you would know by now you are not allowed to enter Foster's."

Alex's head snapped to her left, where she saw doctor Hamilton standing with his old arrogant smile on.

"I'm not entering Foster's, I'm just standing at the gate. As far as I know, I'm still allowed to do that." Her eyes were shooting daggers at doctor Hamilton.

"I know you're up to no good each time you show up here. You're probably here to pull another stunt to get your girlfriend out, but I can already tell you it won't work. So why don't you just get out of here?"

Alex couldn't help but sending her own arrogant smile at doctor Hamilton.

"No thanks, I think I'll just wait here until Marissa steps out of that door."

Doctor Hamilton only shook his head, muttering to himself. "So naïve." He then went inside.

Even though he had called Alex naïve for waiting for Marissa, he just had a sense something wasn't right. Whenever Alex came by she would cause trouble. It didn't seem right that she was just standing so calmly at the gate without trying anything. To calm his own senses he decided to go see Marissa first, just to make sure everything was alright.

"Well, considering your release order I think there's not much else we can do. Doctor Hamilton has always had his grounds to keep miss Cooper committed as far as I know, but we must release her if the NMC says so. I will call security to let them know miss Cooper is being released. That way we can avoid trouble at the gate. Oh, and if you can wait for a minute I will call doctor Hamilton, he can show you the way to Marissa's room." Doctor Rogers concluded after reviewing the papers doctor Wu had handed him.

"That won't be necessary, thank you. Doctor Ward has already kindly agreed to take us to Marissa."

"Okay, then I won't stand in your way."

"Thank you for your cooperation doctor Rogers." Doctor Wu shook his hand before exiting the office. So far, everything was going just fine.

"Doctor Ward, it's all taken care of. Can you lead the way to Marissa's room?"

"Of course, it's this way." He started walking in a quick pace. He didn't want to waste any more time.

Doctor Hamilton in the meantime had arrived at Marissa's room. He had quickly made his way over there as soon as he had dropped his stuff in his office.

"So Marissa, is your girlfriend a natural blonde? Because judging by her stupidity, I would say she is." He said upon entering Marissa's room.

Marissa had been sitting on her bed, a notepad in front of her on which she was writing. Usually she ignored doctor Hamilton as much as she could, but with him saying these things about Alex she simply couldn't ignore him this time.

"What?" she gasped disbelievingly. She knew doctor Hamilton was a rude arrogant doctor who really needed to get laid, but never before had she heard him being _this_ rude.

"Aww, you haven't heard yet." He said taunting. "She's standing at the gate, waiting for you. Somehow she got the stupid idea in her head that you will be walking out of here anytime soon. I just hope she brought a sleeping bag and enough food. If she's actually waiting for you to step out of that door, she's going to need it."

Marissa was angry at doctor Hamilton, but her anger was overshadowed by another feeling this time. If Alex was really waiting for her to step out, did this mean that Luke had succeeded at the Medical Committee? Just then she heard a familiar voice coming from the hallway.

"It's right there, room 314."

Marissa wasn't the only one who had heard this. Doctor Hamilton's head snapped towards the door.

"What the…" Before he could finish his sentence, the buzz of the door unlocking filled the room.

To Marissa, everything seemed to go in slow motion. She saw the door opening, revealing Luke and three men she didn't know. Doctor Hamilton got up angrily.

"What are you doing here? Doctor Ward, this is a restricted area which you are not allowed to enter! And who are these other people?"

Luke didn't get the chance to reply himself, as doctor Wu stepped forward.

"Doctor Wu, National Medical Committee. And these kind gentlemen are officers at the Newport Police Department. I'll just make a wild guess and say you must be doctor Hamilton."

At the mentioning of the NMC, all color was drained from doctor Hamilton's face. He started moving back slowly, while stumbling over his words. "National… National Medical Committee."

"Yes, NMC. We're here to release Marissa Cooper, I have a signed release order and your boss has already given us free reign as far as Marissa is concerned."

Doctor Hamilton seemed to pull himself back together. "I don't think so, Marissa isn't going anywhere."

Doctor Wu stepped forward. "Okay, we can do this in two ways. It would be best if you just step out of the way doctor Hamilton. Should you decide however to refuse your cooperation… well, let's put it this way; yours wouldn't be the first arrest these officers make."

"You can't take her away, the woman's a crazy bitch! You'll regret it if you release her. Besides, you've got nothing on me, you can't arrest me!" Doctor Hamilton spat out.

"Au contraire, my friend. We've got enough information to know Marissa is as sane as anyone else. Traumatized maybe, by the last seven years, but crazy… far from it. If there's anyone crazy in this room I would say it's the so called doctor who takes money to ruin a young woman's life. Now I ask you once again to step out of the way doctor Hamilton."

Doctor Wu himself was starting to get angry. In all his years at the NMC he had never seen this kind of behavior from a man who had pledged to help people.

"Never" doctor Hamilton hissed.

"Fine, we'll do it your way then. Officers, take him away!"

The two policemen moved forward. One of them pulled out his handcuffs. Marissa could only watch with her mouth wide open as she saw doctor Hamilton struggling to keep his hands away from the cuffs. It was completely pointless. Like doctor Wu had said; these men were experienced, they had made plenty arrests before. It didn't take them long at all to overcome doctor Hamilton.

Luke turned to Marissa.

"Hey Marissa." He said smiling.

Marissa stood up and almost ran into Luke's arms.

"You really did it?" she asked, hardly able to believe what she had just witnessed.

"Of course. Well, with the help of doctor Wu over there." He said, waving at the elderly man. Marissa turned away from Luke and moved in to give doctor Wu a hug as well.

"Thank you. Thank you so much." She gasped as she moved her arms around him, holding him tight.

Doctor Wu nearly pulled back in shock. He just stood there stiff as a board, patting Marissa's back uneasily, for he didn't know what else to do. This most certainly had never happened to him before! But old a man as he was, he too had a heart and emotions. And seeing Marissa, the young woman he had never even met before, clinging to him as if he was her lifeline, thanking him for setting her free… it touched him deeply. Recovering from his earlier shock, he relaxed into the embrace.

The officer that had been putting the cuffs on doctor Hamilton only minutes ago watched the whole scene unfold in front of his eyes. He too had to wipe at his eyes as he felt tears forming.

Doctor Wu patted Marissa's back one more time before pulling away from the hug.

"Well Marissa, I think it's time to get your stuff. I've seen a beautiful blonde lady standing at the gate. Somehow I have the feeling she's not just standing there to watch birds or something."

"Alex." She gasped. She almost ran towards her closet, pulling out the old bag filled with clothes. It was the bag Julie had prepared seven years ago, a bag Marissa had cursed, but it didn't matter anymore. In it were the only clothes she still had, even though she never wore them. She was always dressed in that hideous hospital-outfit.

Quickly she went through it, trying to find something suitable. When she found it her eyes settled on Luke. Fortunately, he got the message.

"Ehm, guys. Let's give Marissa a few minutes to get dressed, okay?"

When she heard the closing of the door, she changed as quickly as she could. The clothes that once fitted her perfectly, now were about a size too big for her. It was a direct consequence of the loss of weight she had while being institutionalized. But there'd be time for a new wardrobe soon enough, right now she was just glad to wear anything that wasn't blue like the clothes at Foster's. As she finished tying her shoelaces she called out. "Luke, I'm decent, you can come in again!"

The door quickly opened and Luke and doctor Wu stepped in again. The policemen and doctor Hamilton remained standing in the corridor.

Everybody watched as Marissa seemed to fly through her room, grabbing the little stuff she had and throwing it into the old bag. Eventually, the only thing remaining were her notepads. There was no more space for it in the bag Marissa had.

Desperately she turned to Luke. "Luke… I don't have any more space in my bag, but I don't want to leave my notepads here. They are so important to me…"

Luke thought for a moment. "Well, I still have to work today, but would it be okay if I drop them off after work? I'll take care of them if you let me."

"Would you do that?" Marissa asked, just to make sure.

"Of course I would. I've got Alex's address so I'll just drive by after work."

"Thanks… you're the best. Then I guess I'm ready." She spoke her last words carefully, as if she was afraid someone would jump out, shouting 'smile, you're on candid camera' and throw the door back in her face.

Luke, being the gentleman he was, lifted Marissa's bag and held the door open for her. Marissa walked out of the door, took one glance back and let out the breath she'd been holding.


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15 

At least twenty minutes had gone by since Luke and his 'fellowship' had entered Foster's. Alex was growing seriously worried. "They should be here by now… what's taking them so long?" she spoke quietly. Then Luke's words echoed in her head. "It might take a while, but that's because it's all official stuff."

However, she had to use every bit of self control to keep herself from entering Foster's ground. She really didn't know how much longer she could take it. Fortunately she listened to her mind instead of her heart. She would wait, no matter how much longer it would take.

Marissa was walking as fast as her legs would carry her. Luke and doctor Wu could barely keep up with her, the officers that had to tag doctor Hamilton along with them had fallen behind completely. They were approaching the security booth rapidly and Luke, though it pained him to do it, decided he had to step in for a moment to slow Marissa down.

"Marissa, hold on for a moment." Marissa stopped abruptly, looking backwards to Luke.

"I know that you want to leave as fast as you can now, and I don't blame you, but we need to sign you out officially. So when we reach security, you can't just run out of the door, okay?"

"Sorry Luke… I just… You know, I got a little overexcited. I just want to get out of here."

"That's alright Marissa. Just as long as you don't rush past security, that would only cause a delay." Luke spoke comforting.

They walked on and it didn't take them a lot of time to reach security. Charlie was still sitting in his booth and even though his window was closed, he could be heard singing loudly along with the cd he had put on.

Luke banged his fist against the window. "Charlie, could you spare a minute?"

He quickly turned down the volume and opened his window, blushing profoundly.

"Ehm… Sorry Luke, I got a bit caught up in my music."

"That's alright. I'm here with Marissa Cooper, she needs to sign out. Do you have the forms ready?"

"Yes, I do. Doctor Rogers gave me a call himself." Charlie moved his attention to Marissa. "You must be damn glad to get out of here, I see you've been here for seven years."

"Uh-huh" she replied. She didn't mean to be rude to Charlie, but something had caught her attention. She noticed that from where she was standing, she could already see the door. And not only could she see the door, she could also hear some of the noise from outside. It was as if she heard the world calling out for her. So naturally, she didn't pay any attention to the conversation Luke and Charlie were having.

"Okay, here we have the forms, you need to sign them right here." Charlie pointed out.

Luke noticed Marissa wasn't paying any attention. He softly placed his hand on her shoulder. Marissa quickly turned her head. "Sorry, what?"

"You can sign here, then we can go."

Marissa quickly took the pen from Luke and signed the forms. Luke then handed the papers back to Charlie who in his turn wished Marissa good luck, but Marissa had already started walking towards the exit.

She walked slowly but surely, her feet moving on their own. She felt her mouth starting to go dry and the closer she got to the exit, the more she started to tremble. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew Luke was talking to doctor Wu right behind her, but the words never registered. She only wanted to get out of this building, into the arms of Alex.

As she was coming closer to the door, she felt her heartbeat speeding up. She started counting all the steps she took. 1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8 and then there was the last step before she could stretch out her arm to open the door.

She took a deep breath. She took that final step. And at long last, she reached out for the handle of the door, finally being able to open it.

_Now before you all kill me: I PROMISE this is the last time I'll keep you waiting. Only 2 more chapters 'till the end of this story..._


	17. Chapter 16

**_I only have one word at the beginning of this one: Enjoy!_**

**Chapter 16**

Alex still stood outside, waiting. She had just rearranged her focus, this time watching the traffic drive by, when she felt something she could only describe as a shift of energy. Her senses seemed to come alive and her skin got tingly. Her heart stopped for a second and her blood seemed to be boiling, but in a good way. She knew right away what –or rather who- had caused this.

From that moment on, everything seemed to be happening in slow motion.

Her body started to turn. Her head started the motion, followed by her neck, upper body and then her lower body as well. It felt as if it took her ages to reach the point she'd been aiming at, when in reality it was only a matter of seconds.

Her eyes had been seeking Marissa's desperately. They moved around quickly, scanning every molecule that was floating in the air for a sign of Marissa. And then she felt that piercing gaze, and she moved her eyes in the right direction where they immediately locked with Marissa's. If someone had been standing between them, they had probably been killed by the energy released in that single moment their eyes met. An intense gaze settled between them, a gaze that said more than most people say in a lifetime. And as they had their silent conversation, a smile started creeping on Marissa's face. Alex saw this happen and instantly she could feel her own muscles tugging at her mouth, pulling the same smile on her face. And then a sudden movement caused the slow motion to turn into a fast forward situation.

Marissa started running towards Alex, as fast as her legs could carry her. Alex didn't even have time to consciously realize what was happening. Before her brain had processed any thought, Marissa had literally jumped into her arms, her legs wrapped around Alex's middle, her arms around her neck and her lips seeking contact with those lips she'd been aching to kiss.

As their mouths crashed against each other, both Alex and Marissa let their tears of joy flow freely.

"I missed you so much" Marissa breathed out in between kisses.

Alex replied, her lips never really leaving Marissa's, "I missed you too baby, God, how I missed you."

Their lips met over and over, Alex's strong arms holding Marissa up against her. Marissa had placed her arms firmly around Alex's neck, the urgency to keep her close obvious.

It wasn't until Marissa felt Alex's arms trembling that she pulled back from the kiss. She rested her forehead against Alex's, feeling content and happy. Her eyes shut for a split second before she spoke up smiling.

"Honey, you can put me down. I don't think your arms will hold me much longer."

Alex gently lowered Marissa until her feet were placed firmly on the ground. As she pulled back a few inches, she took her first up close look of Marissa. She took a deep breath, taking in the beauty she had been missing so long.

"You look gorgeous," she spoke in awe, offering Marissa the red rose she was still holding.

Marissa lowered her head, a blush creeping up her face. Shyly she took the flower.

"I don't know how you can say that… I look like I've just been run over by a truck." Her voice had become small, almost childlike.

Alex took Marissa's hands into her own, her thumbs caressing the skin she found there. Slowly she brought them up to her face before gently kissing the knuckles on Marissa's hands.

"You look absolutely beautiful," she said, bringing her right hand to Marissa's chin to lift it up. Her eyes met Marissa's and she looked deeply into them. "Absolutely beautiful," she whispered again.

Marissa could tell from the love she saw in Alex's eyes, she meant every syllable of it. Drawn again to the blonde woman standing in front of her, she moved into the arms that always made her feel safe. There was no kissing, just holding.

She pushed her nose deep into Alex's neck, breathing in the scent. All she had memorized came rushing back to her as she realized that nothing had changed about them being together.

Alex still smelled the same, their bodies still fit perfectly together, their kisses were still filled with the same love. Alex's eyes still told her everything without needing to say the words and most importantly to Marissa; Alex still needed Marissa as much as Marissa needed her. The connection they shared had survived seven years of being apart. The way they clung together was only the tiniest proof of that.

Softly Marissa murmured into Alex's ear, "you know… all those mornings you kissed my forehead, thinking I was sleeping… I was just pretending, I was wide awake. I just loved it so much and I didn't want you to stop doing it because you knew I wasn't asleep."

Alex chuckled before throwing in her own admission.

"To be honest with you… I always knew you were just pretending. But I figured, if she wants it this way, who am I to interfere?" Marissa placed her lips on Alex's neck for a fraction of a moment.

"Thank you for loving me so much Alex," she whispered. Alex pulled back again to place a gentle kiss on Marissa's lips.

"There's no way I could ever not love you sweetheart. My love for you is the only thing that has kept me alive… to think…" her voice trailed away.

Marissa knew instantly what Alex was trying to say, for she felt it too. Her love for Alex had kept her sane. If she had thought she'd lost Alex forever, her heart would have been dead. And along with her heart, so would she.

"Don't think Alex. I'm here, with you. Thanks to you." She looked up at the sky for a moment before continuing.

"I can breathe in fresh air, I can see the sun, I can hear birds and cars and planes, thanks to you. I can live because of you. Don't think about what could have been anymore. Because we are together now. Don't let those bad memories haunt you. We've been given the chance to create new ones. And I'm ready to do just that with you."

Alex almost melted at Marissa's words. Marissa was right. She took Marissa's hand into her own.

"Let's do that, let's create new memories."

They started to walk towards the car, attached at the hip, when Alex heard noise. Curious what all the fuss was about, she turned her head just in time to see doctor Hamilton being pushed into the police car. She saw him watching her and Marissa and she couldn't help herself. With her one free hand, she waved avidly at him. As the police car drove off, she smiled smugly at doctor Hamilton who was still watching her angrily. What a great new memory to start with!

Marissa had seen Alex wave and burst out laughing. The sound of Marissa's laughter filled Alex with tremendous joy. They reached the car and Alex quickly moved to open the door for Marissa. She then ran to her side of the car, but just before jumping in she noticed Luke standing at the gate. He was watching Alex and Marissa with a big smile on his face.

Their eyes locked for a moment and they shared a meaningful glance. Alex shot him one more smile, filled with gratitude before entering the car. She moved in to give Marissa another quick peck.

"Let's go home." She said happily.

Marissa had a dreamy look in her eyes. "Yes, let's go home."

_Well people, I hope you are satisfied with the way Alex and Marissa were reunited. Anyway; we're almost at the end of this journey... Next up: The Epilogue_


	18. Epilogue

**Epilogue **

It was one month since fate decided to bring Marissa and Alex back together. A lot had happened since. The first two weeks, Alex had spend all of her time on Marissa. The first days were mainly focused on just being together, cherishing the closeness and renewing their love. They were days filled with kisses, hugs and of course also lovemaking. Neither of them had wanted to talk about all that had happened yet. They just wanted to be together, _needed_ to be together without paying attention to anything else. After all, the world would still be spinning by the time they were ready to join it again.

After the first few days, the inevitable talks came. Marissa told Alex about her years at Foster's, about the pain she had felt, the feelings of abandonment by her family and friends except for Alex and about the comfort she had found in writing. She had pulled out her notepads and showed Alex her favorite piece, Memories. Alex had cried upon reading it and had vowed to Marissa she would never let anything tear them apart again. Marissa had held Alex as she cried, offering the comfort she knew her lover needed.

Just as Marissa had comforted Alex, Alex had comforted Marissa in return. The talks they had were hard but Alex never shied away from the pain, instead sharing it with Marissa. And because Alex was there whenever Marissa needed her, Marissa had given her a free reign to her notepads. Both knew this was the ultimate sign of trust.

They had also talked about Alex's life, about the things Alex had done to get Marissa out, the plans she had made and they had discussed the Bait Shop. They talked about the changes that had come along with all that had happened and about the emotions and fears they had both gone through.

They had agreed that this however was only the tip of the iceberg. There were still a lot of obstacles to overcome, a lot of unresolved issues. This was a start, a fresh and new beginning; the actual healing would take a lot of time. But they knew they would stand this test of time together and that they would definitely make it.

After the first week, Marissa had slowly started the process of going outside again. Not that she had been locked up inside Alex's house, or their house as it now had become, but she never strayed far away. However, after the first week, Alex took Marissa out to the beach. They went at night so it wasn't crowded, but it still was a giant step for Marissa.

In the days that followed, Alex had taken Marissa to dinner, shopping, to the Bait Shop and to the park. There were moments when it all threatened to become too much for Marissa to handle but Alex was always there by her side, offering whatever her lover needed. Taking baby steps, Marissa started to become accustomed to life outside Foster's.

After two weeks Alex had to start working again. Because of the busy schedule she couldn't really take any more time off for now but it did turn out to have one positive side to it.

Marissa, being the fighter she was, realized pretty soon she couldn't spend her days cooped up inside. So difficult as it was, after four days of staying in she forced herself to go outside alone. And when she finally took that step, she surprised Alex by showing up at the Bait Shop. They had cried tears of happiness together about this as Alex told Marissa how proud she was of her girl.

All in all, the pieces of the puzzle called life were slowly coming together again. Slowly, but oh so very surely.

This evening, Marissa was sitting on the couch watching the dvd she and Alex had recently made. They had filmed it only two days earlier, when they had gone to the zoo together. Alex had been editing it the night before, so Marissa was eager to see the results.

Alex in the meantime stood in the kitchen, cooking up a killer meal for tonight Luke would come over for dinner with his wife and son.

"Honey," she called out from the kitchen, "could you please set the table? Luke and his family will be here in about ten minutes."

Marissa turned the tv off and walked up to the kitchen. Lovingly, she wrapped her arms around Alex from behind before stealing a quick kiss. She then quickly started to set the table.

About fifteen minutes later, Luke, Lacey and Jason arrived. Marissa and Alex welcomed them into their home and Luke made the necessary introductions.

"Marissa, Alex, this is my wife Lacey and this little nugget here is my son Jason. Lacey, meet Marissa and Alex." Luke said.

They all shook hands before Marissa kneeled in front of the little boy Luke had introduced as his son.

"Hi Jason, I'm Marissa."

Jason was a small boy who looked very much like his father. He had also inherited his straight forwardness.

"Hi Marissa, I'm Jason." He held out his little hand to shake Marissa's.

"Wow Jason, that's a pretty strong hand you've got there," Marissa said smiling while shaking it, "how old are you?"

Jason immediately held up three tiny fingers. "Three!" he pronounced excitedly.

"Three, that means you're a big boy already! And big boys get to choose their own drinks, you want to come along to pick out something?" Marissa asked.

Jason nodded his head so Marissa stood up and held out her hand which Jason took. "Come on, the kitchen is this way."

They walked off together to the kitchen. Alex stood next to Luke and Lacey, watching them happily. It was very obvious that Jason and Marissa had taken an immediate liking towards one another.

A little bit later everyone had joined together at the dinner table. They shared a great time. Everybody was gushing about the 'yummy food' as Jason had called it. Alex really had prepared a perfect meal. The table was filled with laughter as Luke entertained everybody with jokes and funny stories he made up. Marissa also got the chance to talk to Lacey for a while. Their conversation started out a bit uneasily, for Lacey of course knew all about the situation, but that soon changed when they found out they were both die-hard fans of The Clash.

After Luke was done telling his jokes and stories he started discussing the latest on the NFL with Alex. Jason also joined in on their conversation, though he didn't really know all that well what he was talking about. But that didn't matter, Luke and Alex let him take part in their conversation just as easily.

After dinner as the adults sat on the couch, sipping from their glasses of wine, Jason crawled onto Marissa's lap. They started a thumb-wrestling competition and it didn't take a very long time before they were giggling together. After Marissa lost her fourteenth game from Jason she started tickling him, so minutes later the room was filled with sounds of laughter coming from everybody. They were just too cute together. Jason kept squirming in Marissa's lap until he finally found Marissa's ticklish spot; her sides. Soon the tables had turned and Marissa was the one squirming underneath the little boy.

Eventually though, Jason got tired and fell asleep, still in Marissa's lap. Alex, who had been engaged in conversation with Luke and Lacey again was deeply moved by the sight in front of her. It was the picture perfect she always had in her mind. Marissa looked so peaceful and at ease with Jason. She had never seen Marissa interact with kids before, not like this at least. But Jason and Marissa seemed to share some kind of connection; they could laugh together, play for hours and they both just looked perfect as Jason was sleeping and Marissa was gently stroking his hairs.

She realized how beautiful the family life of Luke was and it had her craving for such a life of her own. Judging by what she saw she knew Marissa would want the same thing in the future. For now it was too soon, but some day…

By midnight the time came to say goodbye. Marissa gently carried Jason to the car. As she put him in his seat, his eyes opened for a moment. Groggily he reached out his arms and put them around Marissa's neck.

Sleepily he asked Marissa, "will you come and play with me again sometime?"

"Sure thing Jason, I'll come by really soon. Now you go home and sleep tight, okay? Don't let the bed bugs bite ya."

Jason kissed Marissa's cheek before mumbling. "Bye Marissa." He then fell asleep again in the backseat.

Marissa walked back up to Luke, Lacey and Alex. She wrapped her arm around Alex as they stood there facing Luke and Lacey.

Alex spoke up. "Thank you so much for coming tonight, we really had a wonderful time."

Marissa piped in. "We really did. And Jason is such an amazing kid. I really hope we'll do this again sometime."

"Absolutely!" Lacey replied, "maybe next time you can come over to our place. I must say I'm not as good in the kitchen as Alex is, but I'm sure I could make something everybody likes."

"Great, we'll get together soon then. Thanks again for a great evening and drive safely on your way home." Alex said.

They all hugged each other goodbye and Alex and Marissa waited at the door until they saw the car turn around the corner. Marissa then turned to face Alex. She wrapped her arms around Alex, pulling her close, resting her forehead against Alex's.

"I've had such a lovely evening Alex. I'm glad you invited them over."

"I'm glad too honey. You and Jason really seemed to hit it off though… should I be getting jealous?" she asked playfully.

Marissa replied by kissing her before taking her hand. Her face turned serious. "Let's go back inside baby."

And as Alex closed the door, she couldn't help but thanking 'the powers that be' for bringing them back together. As tonight had proven, they would be alright. They would overcome their obstacles and find a wonderful life, waiting just for them. As long as they were together. 

The End.

_Well, that's it. Hope you enjoyed reading this fanfiction, I would love to read your responses to this final chapter. _

_Also, I want to thank everyone who has given this fic a chance for reading it. Special thanks go to **SVU Chicky**, **Alex Mort**, **Chelsea** and **SwingDancin'Girl**, who have given me feedback multiple times. _

_But **everybody who has replied at all; Thank you SO MUCH**. All of your replies have definitely made it worth it!_

_Final note (after a special request made in the review-section); we're not allowed to put down our email-adres in the story, but should you want to contact me through MSN, just click on my username and you will find the email addy in my profile._


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